Douglas Watson, with deep entrepreneurial roots shaped by his father’s journey from a BellSouth technician to a successful business owner, is now leading efforts to empower the Birmingham, Alabama community in angel investing. Watson’s own experience launching ventures during college and his career spanning accounting, consulting, and venture capital has made him acutely aware of the capital access challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs in Alabama. This insight drives his mission to create opportunities and support for new investors and founders in the region.

In 2022, Watson founded Measured Capital, a venture capital firm targeting investments across care, workforce resilience, and financial access, focusing on companies connected to Alabama and the Southeast. Its portfolio includes innovative firms like Seattle’s Dopl Technologies, which uses robotics and AI to bridge healthcare disparities, and Birmingham’s Moxi, a software platform championing affordable childcare. Measured Capital actively links its investments to local ecosystems by facilitating connections between portfolio companies and Alabama-based investors and partners.

Measured Capital also operates the Measured Access Scholars program, launched in 2025, aiming to introduce high school and college students to venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through hands-on opportunities including conducting due diligence and engaging with portfolio companies, the program nurtures a pipeline of future investors and founders. Watson envisions this initiative as a sustainable cycle that fuels growth for both Measured Capital and the Birmingham startup ecosystem.

The firm’s latest innovation is the Measured Angel Collective, unveiled in June 2026 during Birmingham’s Sloss Tech Week, which educates and mobilizes local residents to become angel investors. While capital is available in Birmingham, Watson identified knowledge and awareness as the barriers to entry, and this collective is designed to bridge that gap. Measured Capital is currently raising its first fund, continuing its commitment to expanding investment opportunities in Birmingham and beyond.